Princes in Oyo file the Alaafin Owoade lawsuit, seeking injunctions over conduct they claim diminishes the royal office’s historic status

Princes in Oyo have instituted the Alaafin Owoade lawsuit at the Oyo State High Court, seeking court orders to restrain the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Akeem Owoade, from attending functions and undertaking actions they claim are unbecoming of the historic royal office.

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The claimants, Ladigbolu Adegboyega, Owoade Tesleem, Adeyemi Adesina and Adeyemi Adebayo, filed the suit marked HOY/18/2026 before the High Court sitting in Oyo Town.

In the writ of summons, the princes asked the court to grant a perpetual injunction restraining the monarch, either by himself, servants, privies or any other persons, from appearing at occasions and functions they described as not befitting the status of a symbolic traditional head of the Yoruba race.

The claimants also sought an order restraining Oba Owoade from acting in any traditional or official capacity that would render the Alaafin subservient or inferior to any other Oba in Yorubaland.

They further requested a declaration affirming the historical importance of the office of the Alaafin of Oyo, describing it as a revered institution not only in Yorubaland but across Nigeria, West Africa and beyond.

According to the court filings, the princes asked for a declaration that the Alaafin of Oyo remains the symbol of unity, togetherness and the pivotal custodian of Yoruba cultural, customary and traditional heritage.

The suit also seeks a declaration recognising the Alaafin as the paramount ruler and appointing authority over all chieftaincies in Oyo Town as well as Oyo North and South.

The writ indicated that the defendant may enter an appearance personally or through legal practitioners by submitting the appropriate forms at the High Court registry of the judicial division where the action was filed or by registered post.